Kamal Ghorui
Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI is preparing to expand its reach into the automotive ecosystem by bringing Grok Voice Mode to Apple CarPlay, giving drivers hands-free access to its conversational AI assistant. According to a report by 9to5Mac, the latest update to the Grok iPhone app includes a placeholder messaging confirming that Voice mode integration with CarPlay is ‘coming soon’. While the feature is not yet live, this signals xAI’s intent to make Grok available to millions of drivers worldwide, extending beyond its existing integration in Tesla vehicles.CarPlay has recently opened its platform to AI chatbots, with ChatGPT and Perplexity already available. Grok will become the third major AI assistant to join the lineup, offering drivers a new option for conversational support, navigation queries, and productivity tasks while on the road. Apple is also expected to roll out a dedicated Siri app for CarPlay later this year, powered by Google’s Gemini models in iOS 27, further intensifying competition in the in-car AI space.
Increasing demand for AI in cars
Consumers have increasingly sought broader AI capabilities beyond Siri’s scope, often resorting to workarounds like syncing iPhone widgets to CarPlay. The integration of ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini will streamline access, making AI-powered queries more natural in the driving environment.
Apple’s own AI push
Apple is also working to enhance Siri with “World Knowledge Answers”, a feature that will add web search and summarisation abilities similar to ChatGPT. The company last updated CarPlay with widgets and a Liquid Glass interface in iOS 26, and is slowly rolling out CarPlay Ultra, which can control in-car functions like seat adjustments and climate settings.
